Smoke and Shadow
by XTheSonofHadesX
Summary: Percy and Nico have always been best friends. Over the years, Nico has developed feelings for his best friend. Planning a Halloween party with their friends at Percy's family's vacation house, Nico hopes to confront Percy about them. The problem is, they aren't alone in the woods. There's something in the house, and now Percy and Nico must try and survive.


_So, this is my contribution for Halloween. I didn't mention it in a lot of my latest chapters because I didn't decide to do it until Sunday night. So, this got written in two days time. It's also extremely long. I'll warn in the warning, but this is graphic. Pretty much, I'd like to welcome you to the demented part of my mind. I apologize about this all being one chapter, but I figured everyone would just wait til the end to review anyways. So, it all got left in one chapter. I'm not going to say anything at the end. I want the final words to be the last thing you read. As I mentioned, this is a Percy/Nico fic, so there will be a bit of romance involved with them._

_I do want to note that I will be making an announcement on my upcoming posting days. Since I ran myself ragged trying to write this, I'm feeling a little run down. I will probably post this weekend, but I had a thought, that partly came from a review. I was thinking that once a month I skip a week of posting. It lets me rest up for a few days and get away from everything. I haven't decided yet, but I just have been thinking about it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story, and happy Halloween._

_Warning: Gore. This is rated M for a reason. Gore. Violence. Character death. Brief nudity. And Luke and Octavian might be a little OOC._

_Disclaimer: I own none of the characters._

Bored brown eyes stared out the window as tree after tree passed by. Nico tapped his fingers against his leg as he continued to watch the never ending redwood scenery. His eyes flickered up to the driver's seat, where his best friend was busy concentrating on the road. Green eyes looked into the rearview mirror and he smiled back at Nico. Nico sighed and averted his eyes from Percy.

The two of them had been friends since they had been in diapers. They had quickly become best friends, and had even ended up going to college together. Though, Nico's choice may have been influenced by the green-eyed boy, who had chosen UCSB the previous year.

Percy and Nico had been in middle school when the latter came out to his best friend. Percy had been cool with it, and it hadn't even fazed him when Nico told him that he had a crush on him. The older black headed boy had just grinned and laughed before ruffling Nico's hair. After all of that, Percy had developed a protective nature when it came to Nico, wanting to make sure he didn't get bullied.

And the worst part was that Percy didn't mind being affectionate with Nico. If Nico were ever to sleep over, Percy would even go as far as cuddling him while they watched a movie. However, if Nico ever tried asking Percy about it, he would always claim to be straight. He had even ended up dating one of their other friends, Annabeth.

However, Percy and Annabeth had ended breaking up. Apparently, Annabeth didn't like Percy's affectionate nature when it came to his best friend, which Nico found ridiculous. Percy had a bromance with him at most. He would probably never have a chance with him.

Thinking of the girl, Nico turned to glance at the girl who sat behind him, talking about some thesis she was working on with her new boyfriend, Luke, who was yet another one of their friends. Nico found it a little odd that Percy hadn't seemed bothered by his ex-girlfriend dating another one of his best friends. But, who was he to question Percy's reactions. He had experienced his own odd reaction from the green-eyed young man.

Just a month ago, Nico had finally tried to make a move on Percy. They had been hanging out, alone, one night, and Nico had ended up kissing Percy. It had seemed fine at first, he could have even sworn that Percy had kissed him back, but after it was over, Percy had acted like nothing ever happened. And not even a week later, he began dating some girl named Kinzie, who currently sat beside Percy in the seat in front of Nico.

And after experiencing this girlfriend, Nico really missed the days when Percy and Annabeth were dating. Kinzie hated him, mostly for the same reasons that bothered Annabeth. But, unlike Annabeth, she actually hated Nico. The feeling was mutual, however, because Nico despised the blonde girl.

All of this had ended up leading to their current road trip up to Percy's family's vacation house. It was the day before Halloween, and Nico had wanted to do something with Percy. However, Percy had said that he was bored with going to the same parties, so he wanted to do something different. Nico had suggested the vacation home, intending to spend the night alone with Percy, so that they could talk about that kiss. But, Percy had turned it around and made it a group event, claiming that since they didn't get to see their other friends that much, they should all go. Nico had reluctantly agreed, and here they all were.

"You're being awfully quiet," Octavian, Nico's current boyfriend, whispered.

Nico turned to look at the blond. He and the blond had been dating on and off since he began college. He knew he didn't love Octavian like he did Percy, and perhaps that was the reason they kept had such a rocky relationship. In the short time that they had been dating, they had already broken up twice. Ironically, Octavian had the same opinion regarding Percy and Nico's strange friendship that Annabeth and Kinzie held. It had led to their most recent breakup, which was when Nico had seized the opportunity to kiss his best friend. And then after Percy asked Kinzie out, Nico had gotten back together with Octavian.

Nico ran a hand through his black hair. "Sorry, I'm just a little bored," Nico whispered back.

"Well, we're not too far from the house," Percy called from the driver seat.

It was a big house, which would have been nice and romantic, if it had just been Percy and Nico. Like the current surroundings, it was in the middle of a forest of redwoods, half an hour from the closest town.

Frank stretched on the other side of Octavian. "Good, my butt has fallen asleep," he mumbled.

They had borrowed Luke's mother's minivan to help carry them all. Being twelve in total, they had ended up still needing an extra car. It had slightly annoyed Nico, because it had ended up being a couples' trip to the house. There was Percy and Kinzie, Octavian and Nico, Frank and Hazel, Luke and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, and Leo and Thalia. The last four had ended up following behind them in Jason's car.

"Can't we go any faster?" Kinzie whined. "I want to get there before this thunderstorm hits."

Percy sighed, and Nico caught his eye in the mirror. Nico smirked at him before looking back out the window. He wasn't sure if the couple would end up lasting, but he just wished that he could actually have a chance with Percy. Nico looked up at the sky as thunder started to rumble in the distance. It would hopefully be an interesting Halloween night tomorrow. He just wished it had ended up being just the two of them. It would have been nice to be alone with Percy in all of this.

The car suddenly jerked and Nico's head collided with the window. The van swerved and the girls began screaming. Octavian grabbed Nico as the black haired boy clutched his now aching head. The van ended up in a small ditch. Percy sat frozen at the wheel momentarily before he looked around at everyone to make sure they were alright.

"Shit, Nico, I'm sorry. The tires blew and I lost control," Percy apologized, reaching back to push Nico's hair away from his forehead to check the bruise.

Nico winced. "It's fine, Percy. It wasn't your fault," Nico assured him, trying to bat the older one's hand away.

"What happened?" Luke asked.

Percy shook his head, his mouth floundering. "I don't know. I didn't see anything in the road," he replied.

"Well, let's get out and check the damage," Hazel suggested.

Percy nodded and they all began climbing out of the van. Nico stumbled when he jumped out. It seemed that Jason had hit whatever they had, because he was out checking his flat tires. They had been lucky enough not to end up in a ditch like the van had, though. Percy crouched down to check the back wheel, kicking it in frustration when he found a big tear in the thing.

Jason walked over, running a hand through his short blond hair. "What now?" The blond asked.

Percy sighed and stood back up. "I guess we can grab some of our stuff and walk the rest of the way," he suggested.

"Walk?" Kinzie huffed.

Percy shrugged. "We can cut through the woods. If we follow the road, it will take a lot longer." He blew at his bangs. "It's not that far through the woods, maybe five or ten minutes."

"Sounds like a plan," agreed Piper, resting her arms on the door of Jason's car.

"So, we just carry our stuff?" Hazel asked.

Percy nodded. "Just take clothes and stuff. We can try coming back for anything else later," he said.

"What about calling for help?" Octavian suggested.

"We could always do it in the morning," Annabeth offered. "It's starting to get dark, and the storm will hit soon. We would have better luck calling for help in the morning."

"She's right," Percy agreed. "So, everyone grab what you can."

Percy walked around to the back of the van and popped the back door. He smiled and offered Nico his backpack. "Thanks," Nico mumbled.

Percy sighed and brushed Nico's bangs away again to look at the bruise yet again. "We'll see about getting some ice for that when we get to the house," Percy said.

Nico shifted under Percy's gaze as the older one's hand dropped from his hair and drifted down his cheek before the green-eyed boy dropped his hand back to his side. Percy cleared his throat and handed Nico another bag. Nico sighed and walked off. Hopefully, he could still get some alone time with his friend, and maybe even talk about that kiss.

* * *

Annabeth clutched at the straps of her backpack as the group hiked through the woods. She felt uneasy being out there in the forest. With the high trees and descending sun, it gave the forest an eerie feeling. She kept having this feeling that something was watching them. She glanced up at her boyfriend, wanting to make sure he was still there beside her.

Luke had insisted on carrying her luggage, but she had managed to talk her way into getting to carry her backpack. The blond seemed a little distracted. His eyes kept roaming the woods. Perhaps he, too, felt uneasy with the environment. Ever since Percy's father had died out here, the place had just given her the creeps. Still, she didn't want to pass up an opportunity to see all of her friends again.

She looked ahead once again, turning her gaze on Percy and Nico. While Kinzie was on Percy's other side, clutching his hand, Percy's attention was drawn to the smaller boy on his right. She let out a sigh. Percy was really dense sometimes. She didn't even think he realized how he felt about Nico yet. She saw it, though. And that's why she had ended their relationship. It was something that not even Nico realized. They were both blind to Percy's feelings. He had always been affectionate with the younger boy, but he always shrugged it off as a weird bromance.

Luke nudged her with a grin. "Dwelling on their ignorance again?" Luke asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I don't understand them," she whispered. "They kissed and then Percy runs off and dates Kinzie."

Luke shrugged. "He's just in denial about it. Just don't worry about it. I think they get weirded out enough as it is when Piper and Silena try pushing them."

Annabeth nodded. "I know. I just don't understand how they can be so blind to it all."

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "They've been friends too long. Nico is too scared to try and push Percy into thinking about his feelings, especially after their kiss. Then there's Percy, who is too worried about what others might think of him to accept he actually likes Nico," Luke pointed out.

"We have to go through there?" Kinzie shrieked, drawing Annabeth and Luke away from their conversation.

The others had stopped in front of an old cemetery. Vines grew all over a mausoleum that sat in the center of it. There were a few broken tombstones, and a black iron fence that surrounded the area. Looking at it sent chills down Annabeth's spine. There was a stone angel near the front with its hand outstretched as if it were telling them not to enter.

"It's the fastest way to the house," Percy reminded them. "It'll be fine."

Jason opened the gate, which creaked as it swung open. Piper clung to Jason's arm as the group entered the cemetery. The sun had nearly set, giving them very little light to see. With all of the trees around them, it just made everything darker. Annabeth drew in on herself as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Hazel shrieked as a crow cawed and flew off from the ground in front of them. She buried her face in Frank's back. The entire group jumped when the gate behind them swung closed. Kinzie began whining when the first rain drops began falling from the sky.

They finally reached the other side of the cemetery, where Thalia opened the gate. "It shouldn't be far now," Percy told them. Annabeth just wanted to be there already. Her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest.

They froze when they heard leaves crunch nearby. "What was that?" Leo whispered.

"I don't know," Percy hissed back.

"Percy, let's go. I don't want to be out here anymore," Nico said in a distressed tone. Annabeth definitely had to agree with his idea.

"It was probably just a squirrel," suggested Octavian.

Annabeth jumped when a twig broke. She grabbed Luke's arm and pulled herself closer to him. There was something out there. "Let's go," she said desperately.

Percy nodded and they slowly crept in the direction of the house. The rain started to come down harder as they moved. Annabeth snapped her head around when she heard a child laughing in the distance. She squeezed Luke's hand tighter.

"Does anyone else hear that?" She hissed.

"It's probably just the wind," Thalia replied.

They all breathed a collective sigh of relief when they reached the edge of the woods. They could see the house in the middle of the clearing. Percy chuckled and ran towards the house, the others following after him. Annabeth just wanted to get inside where it was dry, and she wouldn't complain if there were some hot chocolate waiting as well.

Percy pulled out his keys as they walked onto the porch. The wind began howling behind them as he unlocked the door. He pushed the door open and flipped on the lights. They all walked inside and dropped their bags in the foyer.

They all jumped when the door slammed shut behind them. "Fucking wind," Octavian muttered. They all shared a laugh over the blond's comment.

* * *

Nico opened the bathroom door to find a mug of hot chocolate being shoved in his face. He blinked at it for a moment before looking up at Percy. "I thought you might like some after you got out of your shower," Percy said with a smile.

"Thanks," Nico mumbled, accepting the hot mug and blowing on it. It was moments like this when Nico really wished they were dating. Percy was always so sweet, and always managed to make Nico's heart melt, even with such small things.

Octavian never did things like this for him, but then again, he and Octavian had a primarily had a physical relationship. And he usually found himself imagining of what it would be like to be with Percy instead. It made Nico wonder rather often if Percy knew what he was doing to Nico.

"I figured you'd rather have that than some alcohol right now," Percy chuckled. "Though, I did think about slipping some Baileys into it."

Nico smiled and took a sip. "Thank you for refraining. I might have something else to drink later."

Percy nodded. He slid his hands into his pockets and watched Nico drink on his hot chocolate. After they had arrived, everyone got into some dry clothes and worked on fixing some dinner. They had opted to bring some chicken and steak along with them, since the house would only have nonperishables in it. The meal had gone by rather quietly, and the group scattered to find various things to do.

Nico had opted to get a nice hot shower. After the incident with the van, his muscles had been a little sore, and the hot shower had been just what he needed. His head had stopped hurting, but there was still a small bruise on his right temple. Percy frowned at it and tilted Nico's head up so he could get a better look at it.

"It's not that bad," Nico whined.

Percy shrugged. "It'll probably be gone before the week is over."

The two best friends turned their heads when Octavian cleared his throat. The blond was standing in the doorway of the bedroom that Percy had let Nico and Octavian use. He had his arms crossed and his lips pursed. Percy rubbed the back of his head and took a step back from Nico.

"We, uh, should get downstairs," Percy mumbled.

Nico nodded, while Octavian only grunted. He pushed past Percy, grabbing Nico's wrist on the way. He yanked the brown-eyed boy along behind him. Percy chuckled softly behind Nico as they descended the stairs.

The others were waiting in the house's living room, various drinks in their hands. The uneasiness from back in the woods seemed to have lifted, as everyone was laughing. Octavian dropped Nico's wrist and went into the kitchen with Percy, the pair getting drinks of their own. Nico took a seat close to Kinzie, not wanting to sit by the girl, but knowing it would allow him to sit by Percy.

As Nico was expecting, Percy sat down beside him when he returned from the kitchen. Octavian sat down on Nico's other side and offered Nico some of his alcohol, which Nico declined. He didn't want to be intoxicated at the moment. He just wanted to relax after such a hectic day.

The group spent a little while catching up with each other. The original members of the circle of friends, which included Percy, Nico, Annabeth, Luke, Jason, Thalia, and Hazel, spent some time sharing old memories with the group. It was nice, and Nico realized how much he missed everyone. After high school, they had all gone their separate ways, and Thalia and Hazel had even moved out of state to attend college.

The rain was still pouring down outside, but Nico hadn't been thinking much about it until the lights flickered. The group grew silent momentarily to look up at the blinking lights. "We should tell ghost stories," Leo suggested with a grin. The girls, except for Annabeth and Thalia, groaned.

Nico fidgeted from time to time as the Hispanic boy wove a tale of blood and horror. He was usually fine with ghost stories, but after earlier, he didn't want to hear one. He looked down when he felt Percy squeeze his hand, and only then did he realize that he had the green-eyed boy's hand in a death grip.

He was about to pull his hand away when a scratching sound started coming from the door. Leo fell silent as they all stared at the door. It sounded like something's nails were raking over the wood. Nico pursed his lips tightly together and squeezed harder on Percy's hand when the scratching turned into banging.

Percy tried to get up, but Nico wouldn't let go of his hand. "I'll be right back," Percy whispered soothingly. How could he be so calm right now?

Percy walked out of the room with Jason and Luke. Nico heard the door be unlocked and creak open. He wrung his hands as he waited for the three of them to return. Seconds later, the door closed and Percy returned with Jason and Luke.

"There wasn't anything there," Percy informed them.

"Well, what was making that noise?" Piper asked, letting Jason wrap his arm around her.

Luke shrugged. "Not sure, but there wasn't anything outside when we looked," the blond confirmed. Not five seconds after Luke finished his sentence, the scratching began again.

After a tense moment, Percy ended up suggesting that they try and get some sleep. Nico wasn't sure he was going to be able to, but he agreed. He stared at the door for a few seconds, which was still being scratched, before walking up the stairs. Octavian shut the door behind them and turned off the light. Nico silently climbed into bed, letting his boyfriend cuddle him as he fell asleep.

A few hours later, Nico crawled out of bed. He glanced back at Octavian, who was still sleeping. Nico ran a hand through his already messy hair and stood up. He opened his door and headed for the stairs, wanting a drink of water. The rain had died down, but was still falling lightly outside. The scratching had gone on for nearly two hours before it had finally stopped, much to Nico's relief. They never found out what was making that noise, and Nico couldn't sleep because of it.

He stopped momentarily when he noticed a bright light coming from the living room. He finished his descent down the stairs and turned to the corner to find Percy sitting on the couch watching TV. "What are you doing up?" Nico asked groggily.

Percy muted the TV and turned to look at Nico. He grunted and sat up. "I'll have you know that I'm a gentleman and haven't slept with Kinzie yet," Percy replied with a grin.

Nico rolled his eyes. Not from her lack of trying, he was sure. Nico sighed and sat down next to Percy, who slung his arm behind Nico on the couch. Percy turned his attention back to the TV. "So, you're going to sleep on the couch?" Nico asked.

Percy shrugged. "Well, there aren't any more bedrooms."

"Why didn't you just rearrange some of the sleeping arrangements and share a bed with Luke or Jason?"

"I figured they would want to sleep with Annabeth and Piper. It's really not a big deal. It's only for two nights." Percy glanced at him. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Nico confessed.

Percy nodded and situated his pillow on the arm of the couch. He lay down and pulled Nico along with him. A few years ago, Nico would have found this odd, but he had come to accept things like this as normal for them. He sighed in contentment as Percy rested an arm around his waist. If he couldn't actually be with Percy, he would settle for things like this.

"Do you want me to stay down here with you?" Nico asked.

Percy shrugged. "I don't want to keep you from your boyfriend," Percy mumbled. The way he said it bothered Nico a little. He knew Percy wasn't very fond of the blond, and the only reason Octavian had gotten invited was because he was dating Nico. But Percy would occasionally say things like that, which would seem fine to others, but Nico always picked up on the odd tone Percy used when speaking of the blond. It was almost distasteful.

"It's fine. He can sleep just fine without me."

Percy reached down and grabbed a blanket. He raised a brow at Nico. "Are you sure? Last chance to get away."

Nico chuckled and nodded. Percy laid back down behind him, tossing the blanket over both of them. "Percy?" Nico whispered, wanting to take the opportunity to actually talk to his friend.

"Hmm?"

"Do you like Kinzie?"

Percy buried his head into Nico's hair. "What kind of question is that? And why are you asking?" He mumbled.

"I was just wondering. She doesn't seem to like me very much."

Percy shrugged. "She can get over it, because I'm not going to end my friendship with you to please her."

Nico frowned, his eyes on the TV. "Did she ask you to do that?" He inquired.

Percy held Nico tighter. "Don't worry about it, dude. Like I said, I'm never going to stop being your friend."

Nico huffed. He heard Percy chuckle in his ear. "Why are you dating her?"

He could practically see the smile on Percy's face. "Nico, are you jealous?" Percy teased him.

"No," Nico mumbled. "Are you jealous of Octavian?"

Percy was silent for a few seconds. "No," he finally replied. "Why would I be?"

"You don't seem to like him very much, and I don't know why."

Percy sighed. He fidgeted with Nico's shirt. "I just don't like that he keeps hurting you."

Nico arched an eyebrow, which went unnoticed by Percy. What was he talking about? Octavian had never hurt him. If anything, he had hurt Octavian.

"What do you mean?" Nico inquired. He tried rolling over, but Percy had a firm grip on him.

"Well, you keep breaking up. I just figured he was doing something wrong."

Nico smiled and snuggled against Percy's other arm, which was under his head. "Percy, I broke up with him because I was the one unhappy. He hasn't done anything to me."

"You swear?" Percy pressed.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Yes, Percy," he sighed. This was why people thought they were more than friends, not that Nico was going to vocalize this thought. He was too afraid that if he did, Percy would stop acting this way.

"Why did you break up with him?"

Nico was silent. He wanted to tell Percy that it was because of him, but he didn't know how Percy would respond to that news. Percy was fine with Nico's feelings, but he probably wouldn't like the idea of Nico ruining his relationships because of him. No one would ever be enough, though. Percy was the one he wanted, and it hurt not being able to actually have him.

"Nico?" Percy whispered when Nico didn't respond.

"It's, uh, just complicated. It's nothing to worry about."

"Well, if he's not the one you want, maybe you should try finding someone else."

"If only you knew," Nico muttered. He felt Percy smile into his hair and pull him closer. "So, uh, can we talk about something else?"

Percy was silent for a long time before he mumbled into Nico's hair. "It's getting late. Can we talk about it in the morning?"

Nico sighed. "Yeah, Percy, it's fine."

* * *

Nico let out a sigh of contentment as he burrowed farther into the warmth behind him. He was vaguely aware of a conversation going on, but he was barely conscious, so he couldn't make it out yet. He felt someone brush at his bangs and hold him tighter. He finally cracked an eye open to find Annabeth standing over the couch, staring at Percy, who was still behind him.

"Percy, do you even know what you're doing?" Annabeth whispered.

"Annabeth, for the last time, I don't know what you're talking about," Percy sighed. "Nico and I are just friend."

"You say as you brush his bangs out of his face and hold him to your body." Annabeth ran a hand through her long blonde hair. "Look, you can be honest with me. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to, but I do feel you should be honest with Nico. He likes you, Percy."

"I know he does," Percy hissed.

"He really likes you, and all of this is just getting his hopes up."

Percy let out a long sigh. "I just-"

Nico coughed, silencing the young man behind him. He wanted to curse himself. He felt Percy was about to confess something that he would have wanted to hear. Annabeth's eyes flickered down to Nico. "Well, looks like someone is awake," she mumbled.

Nico sighed and sat up. He turned to look at Percy, who smiled up at him. "How did you sleep?" Percy asked.

"Fine," Nico replied. The truth was he had slept great, but he didn't want to tell Percy, especially not in front of Annabeth. He always slept better when he was with Percy.

Percy sat up and stretched. "Well, I guess we should start on breakfast. Annabeth was just complaining that she was hungry." He tossed Annabeth a look.

Annabeth arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, breakfast," she mumbled before walking off towards the kitchen.

Percy climbed over Nico and stood up. The younger male blushed and averted his eyes when he noticed the bulge in Percy's pajama pants. He had seen Percy naked once a few years ago, and ever since, he had wondered what the green-eyed male looked like fully aroused.

"So, what did you want to talk about last night?" Percy asked.

"Oh, it was nothing important," Nico mumbled, standing up, but still refusing to look at Percy.

The taller of the two tilted his head to the side. "You sure?" Percy asked. Nico nodded. "Alright, well, I'm going to go work on breakfast. You can go get a shower, if you want."

Nico nodded again and headed towards the stairs. As he neared the top, he could hear some of the others talking. He poked his head into Luke and Annabeth's room, finding the blond with Jason and Piper.

"I don't know what's wrong with it," Luke mumbled as he fumbled with his phone. "I swore I put it on the charger before I went to bed."

"Mine's fine, I just can't seem to get good service," Piper stated.

"What's going on?" Nico asked curiously.

All three of the room's occupants looked up at him. "Our phones are acting weird," Jason answered.

Nico frowned at them. That was odd. "Let me go check mine." He headed next door to his and Octavian's room. His boyfriend stirred as he began rummaging for his phone.

"What's up?" Octavian mumbled.

"Everyone seems to be having phone problems," Nico informed him.

Octavian sat up and rubbed his eyes. He reached over to his phone and frowned. "That's odd. I had plenty of service yesterday."

Nico brushed his hair behind his ear as he pulled his phone out of his pants from last night. It lit up, but it didn't have any service. He let out a long sigh and dropped the device on the bed. This was definitely strange. Percy had never mentioned this place being a dead zone. Nico gathered some clothes and headed for the bathroom.

When he finished with his shower, he hopped out and grabbed a towel. He went about drying off his hair with his eyes closed. He arched an eyebrow when there was a knock at the door. He reached over and cracked it open, poking his head out.

"What?" Nico asked.

Percy didn't respond. He just pushed past Nico and closed the door. Nico's face turned red as he stood in front of Percy, completely naked. Of course, it didn't seem to bother Percy. The older male just acted like nothing was any different from their usual encounters. Nico's eyes widened as Percy pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor.

"P-Percy, what are you doing?" Nico floundered.

The perfectly tan boy blinked at him as he slid his pajama pants off. "I want to get my shower while breakfast is cooking and you were taking too long. Be glad you're finished or I would have jumped in with you in there," he chuckled.

Nico felt his cheeks heat up. He grabbed his toothbrush and went about brushing his teeth as he gazed at Percy's body. The older one slid his boxers off, exposing his ass to Nico momentarily before jumping in the shower. Nico let out a long breath once Percy was safely behind the curtain. He really didn't think that Percy knew how good his body actually looked.

As he brushed his teeth, he kept gazing back at the shower. He had the desire to get back into the shower, but he doubted Percy would be fine with that. He could slow himself down to wait for Percy to finish his shower, though.

When he was finished with his teeth, Nico brushed his drying hair. Perhaps he could 'accidentally' drop something into the shower. Quickly glancing around the bathroom, Nico opted for his toothpaste. Making a dramatic fake fumble with the tube, he let it tumble into the shower, where it fell behind the curtain.

Nico slowly slipped the curtain open, finding a perfectly smooth round ass in his face. Percy had already bent over to pick up the toothpaste for Nico, giving the younger male a very good show. "I think you dropped this," Percy said nonchalantly.

Nico blushed as Percy stood back up, giving Nico a full view of his crotch. He took the toothpaste from Percy, but kept standing there, ogling the green-eyed Adonis's body. The way the water rolled off his nude body was so fascinating to Nico.

He heard Percy chuckle. "Enjoying the show there, Nico?" Percy teased him.

Nico blushed deeper and let the curtain finally close. He dropped his towel and went to pick up his underwear. He yelped when the curtain opened again and Percy stepped out dripping wet. The taller one chuckled and turned around the turn off the water. He reached around Nico to grab a towel and began drying his hair. Nico's eyes took the opportunity to rake up and down the tan skin that was mere inches from him.

Nico went back to putting his boxers on when Percy removed the towel from his head. He stiffened when he found arms wrapping around his torso. "Why, Nico, I do believe you've gotten aroused by looking at my body," Percy teased him, blowing on Nico's ear.

Nico scowled at the wall. He hated when this happened. Where most guys would probably be freaked out that a gay guy got aroused from looking at them, Percy took the opportunity to tease Nico about it. "Don't be a jerk," Nico mumbled, pulling himself away from Percy's grasp.

Percy smirked as Nico slipped his pants on. "I'm just playing, Neeks."

"Don't call me that."

Percy frowned. "Don't be mad at me. I was just having some fun." He fingered his towel. "Would it help if I got naked again?"

Nico narrowed his eyes at Percy. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his shirt, slipping it over his head. "I could never be mad at you, Percy," he sighed.

Percy beamed and opened the door. Nico shook his head as Percy walked out. Percy barely had any shame when it came to walking around in such states of undress. Hazel appeared in the doorway with a grin. "Breakfast is ready," she announced. Nico nodded and exited the bathroom.

The group quietly ate breakfast, only really talking about their strange phone situation. Percy managed to get a call through and asked for someone to come and fix their tires. They would have to wait for the mechanic to arrive, but Nico was just relieved that they wouldn't be stranded out in the middle of nowhere.

Once they were done, a few of the others went off to get their showers. Nico helped Percy and Thalia clean up the mess, since the three of them had already had theirs. "So, what are we going to do today?" Thalia asked.

Percy shrugged. "We can do whatever we want," he replied. "We could play some sports."

Thalia grinned. "You're going down, Jackson."

"I find it odd that you're more of a guy than your boyfriend," Nico commented, causing the other two to laugh.

"You're one to talk," Thalia teased him.

"Well, there's also a lake not far behind the house," Percy added.

"I could go for some swimming," Thalia replied.

Percy grinned. "Great, because that's what I wanted to do."

"What's what you wanted to do?" Kinzie asked, walking into the kitchen. She walked over and kissed Percy's cheek, smirking at the frown on Nico's face. He hated how she tortured him like that.

"We thought about going swimming later," Percy informed his girlfriend.

Kinzie smiled. "That sounds like fun. Then, you could see me in my bathing suit." She turned and walked out of the room.

"Whore," Thalia muttered under her breath.

"Be nice," Percy chuckled.

"I'm just saying. You could do better."

Percy didn't reply. He just went back to cleaning the dishes.

After everyone had cleaned up, the group headed outside. Nico had elected to set up on the porch with a book while the rest of the guys ended up playing touch football. Thalia and Hazel had ended up joining the game, but the other girls sat on the porch with Nico. Percy and Octavian both had tried to persuade Nico to join the game, but Nico had never been one for sports.

Nico glanced up from his book when he heard a truck pulling up to the house. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed it was the tow truck that Percy had called. The game paused and Percy walked over to the young looking blond that got out of the truck.

The boy looked to be around their age. He had curly blond hair that reached his eyebrows. His eyes were a dark shade of blue. Like Percy, he looked to be kissed by the sun. He was probably average height, maybe an inch taller than Nico. He wore some overalls and had grease smudges on his face and clothes.

The blond shook hands with Percy. "Hey there. My name is Will. Sorry, but my uncle couldn't come fix your cars like he wanted to. He ended up getting another job, and asked me to come check things out," the boy explained.

Percy nodded. "That's fine," he assured Will. He pointed off into the woods. "Our vehicles are just down the road a little piece. It shouldn't be too hard to find them."

Will nodded. "Alright. I'll go take a look at them, and see about getting some new tires on them."

Percy smiled. "Thanks. We really appreciate it."

"Yeah, we would hate to be stranded out here," Leo said.

Will grinned. "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything," the blond assured them. He hopped back into his truck and took off down the road.

Nico sighed and looked back down at his book as the others went back to their game. He rolled his eyes when Kinzie sat down beside him. "What do you want?" He asked exasperatedly.

"I'm hurt, Nico. Can't we talk like civilized people? You are my boyfriend's best friend, after all," she replied innocently.

Nico rubbed his temple and closed his book, looking up at the blonde girl. "What do you want to talk about?"

"You and Percy are pretty close."

Nico fought the urge to roll his eyes. Percy sure knew how to pick out the intelligent ones. "Yes, I suppose we are."

"A little too close for my liking," Kinzie said, dropping her smile.

Nico stared at her like she was the village idiot, which he figured she might could qualify for. "Why is it that everyone Percy and I date seem to have a problem with our friendship?"

"You act like you're dating. If you haven't noticed, I'm his girlfriend. We are in a relationship, not you and him," Kinzie hissed.

Nico arched a brow. "Percy is straight. I don't know what you have to be jealous of."

"You should back off from him."

"Percy is my best friend. We've been friends since we were babies. I don't feel threatened by you," Nico retorted, going back to his book.

Kinzie fumed at him. "You're getting in the way of our relationship. Not to mention that you have your own relationship, which you seem to be neglecting."

Nico shrugged. "I value my friendship with Percy above any relationship, and it's not my fault that Percy seems to feel the same way."

Kinzie sneered at him. "Nico, I've gotten what I want since I was a little girl. I'm not about to let a little obstacle like you stand in the way of me having Percy."

Nico smiled warmly at her. "Then I suggest you take that stick out of your ass and get used to the fact that I'm not going anywhere, slut," he replied.

* * *

Jason yanked his shirt over his head. He stretched on the edge of the lake as some of the others had already begun swimming. Ever since their game had ended, Kinzie had clung onto Percy even more than usual. She was currently trying to hold his attention while they were floating in the middle of the large lake.

"Are you not getting in?" Jason asked his girlfriend, who was sitting with her feet in the water.

"Maybe in a minute," Piper replied. He leaned down and pecked her on the lips before diving into the water.

When he surfaced, Leo jumped on his back, trying to dunk him under again. Jason just smirked and flopped back to submerge the Latino boy. Hazel chuckled at them from her place on Frank's back. This was nice, Jason had to admit. It was nice seeing his old friends again, and even catching up with the new additions. He was wondering if it would be awkward with so many couples on the trip, but everything seemed alright.

His main concern was with Percy, Annabeth, Kinzie, and Nico, as well as Hazel, Frank, and Leo. He hadn't really seen how Percy and Annabeth acted around each other since their breakup, so he didn't know if it was going to be awkward for them. But everything seemed fine. Leo had been crushing on Hazel a few months back, and when Frank and she had started dating, the Asian had been distrustful of the Latino boy being around his girlfriend. It still seemed a little awkward, but not as awkward as the strange love triangle that was Percy, Nico, and Kinzie.

As with Annabeth before her, Kinzie disliked Percy and Nico's friendship. From what Jason could gather, though, Percy had ended up keeping them away from each other while they were at school. Which Kinzie hated because it seemed Percy's main focus would always be on the smaller boy. Jason wasn't really sure what to make of it. He just knew that the two of them had always been close, and none of it seemed to strike him as strange. Piper, however, was convinced that Percy was just in denial about his feelings for Nico.

The blond swatted Leo away to look at Nico. He was currently sitting on the shore with Octavian between his legs in the water. Octavian rested his elbow on the grass and was saying something to Nico, which they both smiled about. Nico laughed and splashed his boyfriend.

That was how they had always worked. Percy and Nico could be in their relationships, but there always seemed to be a problem with who they were dating at the time. They would claim they were unhappy, or say that it wasn't working, or cite some other reason, but it always ended up with the same result. While Jason wasn't sure why Percy did this, he knew Nico was unhappy because no one could compare to his best friend in his eyes.

Jason yelped as he was dragged under the water. He looked around, but the water was too murky to see anything. He kicked back to the surface to find a cackling Leo, who he promptly splashed. "Not funny, dude," Jason grumbled.

"Aw, lighten up, man. This is supposed to be about having fun," Leo chuckled.

Jason caught Frank's eyes and the two shared a private thought. They grinned at each other. Frank got Hazel off his back and the two boys closed in on Leo, who was still busy laughing. He was quickly silenced, though, when Jason and Frank lifted him out of the water.

"W-Wait! Hold on a second. I was just messing around," Leo tried to save himself, but the other two boys were having none of it.

They grinned again and tossed Leo farther out into the water. Everyone laughed as Leo emerged, spitting out some water. Jason quickly swam away when Leo glared at him. He chuckled as he kicked over to Percy, Annabeth, Kinzie, and Luke.

Annabeth was giving Kinzie a distasteful look as Percy's girlfriend kept sticking her chest out towards Percy. Luke rolled his eyes and continued with his conversation with Percy. "So, what do we want to do tonight?" The blond asked.

Percy blew out a breath. "It's up to you guys. We have plenty of alcohol. We could watch some of the horror movies that we brought," he stated.

"At least we won't be getting trick-or-treaters," Jason joked.

Percy grinned. "I suppose we found the perk of coming to the middle of nowhere."

Jason rubbed at his arms. The sun was beginning to set, turning the already bracing water cold. They still hadn't heard back from Will, and Jason was beginning to wonder if they should send some people to check on the mechanic.

"Jason!" Piper yelled from the shore. Jason turned around and ran his hands through his wet hair. Piper was waving him over. He let out a sigh and swam to the shore's edge.

"What's up?" He asked.

Piper smiled and sank down in to the water. "Come here," she whispered.

Jason tilted his head to the side as he watched Piper slink over towards Nico and Octavian. Jason scrunched up his lips and swam after his girlfriend. She rested against the water's edge, and Jason came to a stop in front of her.

"What's this about?" Jason asked.

Piper placed a finger over her lips. "Listen," she whispered.

"I'm a little lost," Octavian said, frowning at his boyfriend, who had sunk into the water.

Nico moved his wet hair out of his eyes. "I've just been thinking about some things," he replied. Jason watched as Nico fidgeted in front of his boyfriend. He let out a sigh. He turned to Piper, who was grinning like a mad woman.

Octavian tilted his head to the side. "What about?" Octavian asked.

Nico pursed his lips momentarily. He glanced over at Percy before turning back to the tall blond in front of him. "I just think that-"

Jason's eyes widened as Nico disappeared from the surface. He then rolled his eyes. Leo needed to calm down. Jason felt his heart stop when he spotted Leo standing on the shore of the lake, trying to dry off. "Percy!" Jason quickly yelled.

Percy glanced over, his smile quickly dropping off his face when he noticed that Nico was nowhere to be seen, and that Octavian was frantically searching around in the water. He shot away from Annabeth, Luke, and Kinzie, soon appearing beside Jason, Piper, and Octavian.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Nico, h-he just got pulled under," Jason said frantically.

Without further questions the situation, Percy dove beneath the surface of the lake. The others all gathered around the area. Jason could feel his heart pounding in his chest. If Leo hadn't done it, what had?

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding when Percy reemerged, Nico in his arms. Nico sputtered, coughing up water. Percy carried him over to the shore, where he laid him down on the grass. Percy sat at his side, lips pursed, as Nico finished coughing up the water he swallowed.

"What happened?" Percy finally asked, his voice already in the protective tone that he used when it came to Nico's well-being.

Nico shook his head, still gasping for breath. "I-I don't know. It felt like something grabbed me and pulled me under," he panted.

Jason shared a look with Percy, both boys frowning. "I, uh, think we should call it a day for the swimming," Percy suggested.

"Do you know if there's something in the lake? Fish or something?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shook his head, his eyes looking lost and worried. "The lake should be empty except for some small fish."

"Let's just get him back to the house and dry him off," Luke suggested. He helped Frank get Nico onto his feet, where they helped him walk back to the house.

The others stayed behind to gather up their towels and clothes. "What do you think that was?" Jason whispered to Percy.

The older boy shook his head. "I-I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened when my family stayed here," he whispered back. "I just know that this was never my mother's favorite place to visit, especially after my father died here."

"Do you know what happened?" Piper asked.

Percy scratched the back of his head. "He just had a heart attack. My mom came looking for him, and she said she found him in the yard."

"This is really weird," Hazel hissed.

Percy nodded with a long sigh. "I know, but it was probably nothing. Maybe it was just something floating around in the lake. I mean, it is dirty. Who knows what could be in it."

While Percy's words were reassuring, Jason didn't like the look of doubt in his friend's eyes. Jason looked back at the serene lake as they finished gathering their things. The absolute still of the water was giving Jason a bad feeling. Added with the dead silence of the woods, the area gave Jason the creeps.

Jason followed a few feet behind Percy and Annabeth, who was whispering frantically into the black headed boy's ear. Her eyes looked terrified, obviously feeling the same way that Jason was. And now with the sun going down, Jason had the sudden urge to get as far away from this house as possible. He clutched Piper closer to him as they walked the rest of the way up to the house.

* * *

Nico nervously paced back and forth in front of one of the windows. Will still hadn't returned, and it was starting to freak him out. He had tried pleading with Percy to call a cab and leave, but Percy was convinced that there was nothing to worry about. He knew Percy was just acting brave, though. Several people in their group were starting to get nervous, so they needed someone to keep a level head.

Nico peered out into the darkness, but he saw nothing. He jumped when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He let out a breath when he found it was Octavian. "You need to calm down," he said gently. It was only then that Nico realized he was practically hyperventilating and his hands were shaking.

"I don't want to be here anymore," Nico replied.

"Do you want me to try calling a cab to come pick us up?" Octavian brushed at Nico's bangs. "You and I can head back to school."

Nico shook his head frantically. "No," he whispered. He wouldn't leave Percy, no matter what happened.

Octavian nodded. "Ok. Just let me know if you change your mind."

Nico nodded with a weak smile. "Thank you. I just have this bad feeling."

He felt bad being around Octavian now. He had intended to break up with him, but whatever that had been back at the lake had interrupted him. Octavian was being too nice to him, which was now making what Nico knew he had to do harder. He just wasn't happy if the relationship he was in wasn't with Percy. He didn't care about Octavian in the same way he did Percy. And he knew that Octavian deserved something better than what he could give him.

Octavian kissed the side of Nico's head that wasn't bruised. "I'm sure it's nothing."

Nico nodded again. He hoped that Octavian was right. He wanted to believe it, but he just couldn't convince himself. He let his boyfriend lead him away from the window. Octavian pulled him into the living room, where they sat down on the couch.

His head fell onto Percy's shoulder, who was sitting beside him, watching TV. Thankfully, Octavian didn't protest or react at all. Perhaps he knew that Percy could always comfort him, even in the worst situation. No matter how angry or upset Nico ever got, Percy always had a calming effect on him. And right now, Nico needed some comfort.

Without a word, or even looking at him, Percy wrapped his arm behind Nico. He was used to this. He had spent an entire month consoling Nico like this after his mother died a few years back. This was just second nature to Percy by this point.

A wave of groans sounded around the house as the power went out. Nico clutched onto Percy tighter, and buried his face into the older boy's side. He whined when he felt Percy attempt to stand up. "I just need to go see what happened with the generator," Percy whispered in his ear.

Nico shook his head frantically. "No. Please don't go out there," Nico pleaded.

While he couldn't see it in the darkness, he knew Percy was smiling at him. "I'll be fine, I promise."

"Percy, please don't go out there."

Percy sighed. He didn't say anything, nor did he make a move to go check on the generator. Leo turned on a flashlight and directed it at his face. "It's fine, dude. I'll go check on it," Leo said with a wide grin.

"Maybe you shouldn't go out there," Annabeth voiced.

Leo waved her off dismissively. "I'll be fine. Besides, we need to get the generator back up and running."

Percy nodded and smiled at Leo. He mouthed something to Leo, but Nico couldn't make it out in the darkness. Leo nodded back at him and spun around to head out the door. Percy sat back down and squeezed Nico back against his side.

"You're such a brat," Percy teased him.

"I'm sorry," Nico whispered.

"It's fine. Leo can probably do a better job of fixing it anyways."

Seconds soon turned into minutes, and Leo still hadn't returned. Annabeth and Hazel had searched around the house and had acquired some candles. Jason sighed, checking his cell phone. "Damn," he mumbled.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"My phone. It's nearly dead. I haven't even used it today, though."

Nico was finding it hard to breath. He could barely even swallow. He just wanted to be somewhere else right now. He didn't feel safe here anymore. If Percy had planned this for part of their Halloween night, he was going to kill him.

Nico's eyes widened in panic when he heard Leo scream, followed by some gargling noise. Nico's breathing quickened. He put Percy's hand in a vice grip when the boy stood up. "Percy, no, no, no, no, please, don't go out there," he pleaded.

Percy bit his lip, glancing from Nico to the door. "Nico, I need to go check on him. I'll be fine. It's just around the corner," he assured the brown-eyed boy.

Percy pulled his hand free and walked to the door with Frank, Jason, and Luke behind him. Nico shot off the couch and latched onto Percy's arm again. "No, please don't go out there."

Percy pulled Nico away and rubbed his shoulders. "It's ok," he said gently. "I'll be right back. I promise. Nothing is going to happen." He frowned when Nico made a move to follow after him. "No, you're staying in here."

Nico hunched over, resting his hands on his knees as Percy walked out the door. He wanted to run. He needed to get out of there. Something wasn't right. He just wanted to get Percy and get as far away as possible.

Piper and Hazel came to Nico's side, rubbing his back gently. "It'll be ok, Nico," Piper assured him.

"Yeah, it's probably nothing. Leo just probably hurt his hand, or something," Hazel added.

Nico nodded. He was trying to slow his breathing, but it wasn't working. He was scared, and his body was in full panic mode.

"No!"

"Oh my god! Holy shit, man!"

Nico's breath hitched when he heard Jason and Luke yell from outside. Nico pulled himself out of the girls' grasp and ran outside, nearly bumping into Thalia on the way. "Wait," Annabeth called after them, but Nico wasn't about to listen.

The group exited the house and made their way around back, where Nico slid to a halt. Thalia fell to her knees and started sobbing, her hand over her mouth. Nico felt like he was going to be sick. Kinzie, however, beat him to it, throwing up in the grass.

Leo was hanging from the roof by his intestines. His innards had been pulled out from his stomach, wrapped around his neck, and then strung up to the roof of the house. Leo's head dangled to the side, the skin of his neck having been torn. Blood and guts were falling out of Leo's corpse, pooling on the ground beneath him. Jason was hunched over, turned away from his friend's dead body. Percy had been staring at the ground in panic, until he looked over to see that the others had come outside.

He cursed under his breath. "Everyone, get the fuck back inside," he ordered. When no one moved, he yelled. "Now!"

The others ran back inside, except for Nico, Thalia, and Jason. Percy got Jason back onto his feet. The blond jerked away from Percy and began walking back around the house. Nico noticed the utter look of devastation in the blond's eyes. Percy walked over and gently pulled Thalia to her feet.

"Thalia, we need to get inside. It's not safe out here," Percy said gently. Thalia nodded and began walking when Percy pressed on her back.

Nico continued standing there, his eyes still wide as he stared at Leo's desecrated corpse. "Wh-What happened?" He stuttered.

Percy glanced around them and yanked on Nico's arm. "I said get inside. Do you want to get killed out here?"

Nico frowned at the back of Percy's head as he let the taller boy drag him back into the house. "Leo's dead, Percy."

"I know," Percy said after shutting the door. He leaned back against the wood and closed his eyes. He buried his head into his face and began panting.

"Leo," Thalia sobbed.

"Fuck. What do we do?" Luke asked, pacing around the room.

"Someone call for help," Annabeth cried, wrapping her arms around herself.

Percy nodded and pulled out his phone. He cursed under his breath. "No freaking service, and my phone is about to die," he growled.

Everyone pulled out their phones, only to find the same result. "I had my phone charging while we were swimming," Hazel sobbed. She looked terrified as she rocked herself back and forth on the floor.

"Something isn't right," Octavian breathed out.

"We need some help," Kinzie said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What if whatever killed Leo is still out there?"

"What are we going to do?" Frank asked, looking out the window.

Percy shook his head. His eyes were just as terrified as everyone else's. "I-I don't know," he stuttered. Nico buried his face into Percy's chest, wrapping his arms around Percy's waist. Percy slowly wrapped his arms around Nico. Nico could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

Nico was pushed to the side by a glaring blonde girl, but he didn't care. Percy made room for the girl, though. But, all that Nico cared about was that he could be in the comfort of Percy's arms. Though, it wasn't doing much to comfort him this time.

Kinzie screamed when there was a banging on the door, nearly deafening Nico. Percy pushed off the door and maneuvered so that he was in front of Nico and Kinzie. The banging turned frantic and Nico thought whatever it was might knock the door off its hinges.

"Please open up! It's after me! Please let me in!"

Nico's eyes widened at the sound of Will's voice. Percy slowly crept forward and jerked the door open. Will looked a little shell shocked that the door had actually open, and when he hesitated, Percy growled, "What are you waiting for? Get in!" Will snapped out of whatever funk was over him and rushed inside, falling to the floor as he scrambled past the door. Percy slammed the door and locked it again. Will tried to catch his breath as he sat hunched over on his hands and knees.

"Thank you," Will panted.

"What happened?" Frank asked, his eyes as wide as saucers.

"Something attacked me while I was working on vehicles. It chased me off. I ran through the woods as fast as I could. I think I lost it."

Percy slid down the door, burying his face into his hands. "Did you see it?" He whispered.

Will shook his head. "It was too dark. I couldn't make it out, but it wrecked the cars," the blond said breathlessly.

Nico stiffened when he heard children laughing. The room fell silent and everyone glanced around. "There!" Piper shrieked, pointing towards the kitchen.

A tall shadowy figure moved across the wall, disappearing as it moved into the kitchen. Nico was having trouble breathing. He felt close to a panic attack. He just wanted to get out, but he wasn't sure the woods were safe anymore. Where were they supposed to go?

"Get upstairs," Percy hissed, pushing off the ground and grabbing Nico by his forearm. Nico tripped on the stairs. Some of the others kept running, but Thalia ended up tripping over him herself. Nico grunted as the girl landed on top of him before she slid back down the stairs. The floor near the front door was crushed, leaving a hole in the floor.

Nico's eyes widened as he lay frozen in fear. He heard a growling noise and Percy appeared above him. He was yanked back on his feet and shoved up the stairs. Percy grabbed Thalia and dragged her up to the top. Nico barreled into the room Percy had let Kinzie sleep in last night, where he found the blonde girl and Will. Percy slammed the door behind them and pushed a dresser in front of the door.

Thalia collapsed on the bed, pulling her legs up to her chest. "What is going on?" She sobbed.

Percy shook his head. "I don't know," he replied.

Nico sat on the edge of the bed. He watched as Percy checked on Kinzie. Will also watched the green-eyed boy with some interest. Percy sat down on the floor in front of Kinzie and glanced at the blond.

"Thank you for letting me in," Will said, forcing a smile onto his face.

Percy nodded. "It was no problem," he panted. Percy rested his head on his palm and shut his eyes. Nico had only seen Percy like this once, and that was when his father had died. And Nico knew what it meant. He didn't know what to do.

They fell silent as they heard the floor creak outside. Percy slapped a hand over Kinzie's mouth as she started to sob. Nico held his breath until the creaking grew faint. He frowned when out of the corner of his eye he noticed Will was still watching Percy, a hungry look on his face. Was this guy really getting aroused in a situation like this? Nico could admit that Percy was beyond attractive, but this wasn't really the time to be thinking such things.

Nico clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle a scream when something shattered out in the hall. He didn't want it to end like this. He didn't want to die. Percy crept across the floor and grabbed Nico's other hand. He rubbed circles into Nico's palm, keeping eye contact with the brown-eyed boy the entire time.

"Calm down, Nico," Percy whispered. "We're going to be fine. I won't let whatever that is kill you."

Nico nodded his head. He knew Percy always tried to keep his word, but this was something he didn't think Percy could guarantee. "How are you not freaking out right now?" Nico whimpered.

Percy smiled. "Someone has to keep calm."

Nico's breath hitched when the doorknob started rattling. Thalia sat up and gulped. Percy had frozen in front of Nico. The door started jerking, and Nico let out a muffled gasp. They were going to die here. Kinzie screamed when a hole was punched in the door.

A strange snarling sound could be heard outside when a door creaked open. Nico heard a gasp, followed by running. "Hazel, come back!" Frank yelled.

Percy was at the door in a flash, moving the dresser away. He flung the door open and bolted out into the hall. "Percy, no!" Nico yelled. He moved off the bed and glanced down the hall. Some dark figure threw Percy against the wall, while Hazel threw herself in a room.

Nico ran out into the hall and helped a groaning Percy up. He had a cut on his head, and blood was now trickling down the side of his face. Nico yelled as something wrapped around his foot. He was dragged away from Percy and into the room Hazel had gone into.

He was flung against a mirror, and ended up falling onto the floor. Glass fell on top of him, which he cut himself on when he tried pushing himself up. He found Hazel crying in the corner, but nothing else appeared to be in the room.

He crawled across the floor to reach Hazel. "Hazel, why the fuck would you run into the hall?" Nico whispered.

"I-I had to get out. I didn't want to just sit around, waiting to die," she sobbed.

Nico slapped a hand over the girl's mouth when he heard the floor creak behind them. He slid them over to the bed, as it was the only place to hide in the room. He couldn't make out who was now in the room with them, but he figured it would be best to play it safe.

He just wished that they could crawl under the bed, but it was too low to the ground for them to fit under there without crushing themselves. He raised a finger to his lips as he stared at Hazel's wide eyes. Was this really going to be it for the two of them?

He practically jumped out of his skin when he felt someone grab his face. He gasped when he was pulled away from Hazel, but soon calmed down as arms wrapped around him. Nico buried his face into the familiar chest. While he couldn't see his friend's face, he knew it was him.

"I thought I lost you there for a second," Percy whispered into his ear.

More people entered the room, and finally a lantern was turned on. Nico pulled back to look at Percy's face, finding worried green eyes. Percy reached out and held Nico's face, while the younger boy looked at the rest of the room.

Frank was carrying the lantern, while Kinzie and Thalia stood behind him. Percy turned his head to look at them, his eyebrows furrowing. "Where's Will?" He asked.

Thalia shook her head. "I-I don't know. We lost him while that thing was moving around the house," she stuttered, her body visibly shaking with fear.

Nico kept his head buried in Percy's shoulder. He didn't want to leave that spot. It was the safest he was probably going to get right now. "Where are the others?" Hazel asked.

"We heard the front door open. I think some of them tried to make a run for it," Frank whispered.

Percy cursed under his breath and stood up, Nico clinging to the back of his shirt. Nico felt a chill run over his body and shivered. Percy walked over to the others. Nico went to follow after him, but ended up falling on his face. Something had tightened around his ankle and was holding him in place.

Hazel shrieked as she was pulled towards the underside of the bed, as was Nico. Nico grunted as he could feel his body being pulled under the bed by whatever had a hold of his leg. "Nico!" Percy yelled as he ran back over to where he left the boy, Frank right behind him.

Percy grabbed onto Nico's arms to hold him, while placing his feet against the mattress. Nico screamed in pain as he felt his body being stretched. Hazel's own scream pierced the air as the bones of her feet broke as they were pulled into the darkness under the bed.

Frank grabbed Hazel's arms tightly and tried pulling her back out, which only succeeded in increasing the girl's screams. Kinzie stood frozen in place, but Thalia ran over and attempted to pull Nico out with Percy. Nico began kicking around to keep his feet away from the bed. Percy moved his hands to Nico's waist, while Thalia yanked on his legs.

Nico could hear the sickening sound of Hazel's bones breaking as her legs were slowly pulled under the bed. He squeezed his eyes shut. He felt dizzy and was probably nearing the point of passing out. He didn't know if he was going to make it. He might die of fear, if whatever had a hold of him didn't do it first.

Thalia finally grabbed Nico's feet and pushed against the bed. Nico tumbled forward into Percy's chest, who held the pale boy as close to him as possible. Thalia moved over to help Frank by grabbing Hazel's hands. Percy cursed and moved Nico over to the far wall. He pushed himself back onto his feet and grabbed Hazel around her waist.

Nico covered his ears as he began crying. Hazel's screams were increasing in volume, and as he looked over at her, he could see blood starting to trickle out of the corners of her mouth. Hazel made a gargling sound and Nico heard the sickening sound of flesh being ripped apart. Hazel's lower half was pulled under the bed. Thalia and Kinzie screamed as Hazel's upper half lay on the floor.

"No, no, no, no," Frank repeated as he grabbed her face.

Nico covered his mouth to hide his own scream. He couldn't breathe. He needed air. Percy cursed again and fell to his knees, trying to do something to fix Hazel, but there was nothing that could be done. Hazel gasped for a few mere seconds before she fell silent.

Frank began crying and buried his face into her chest. Percy rubbed his hands down his face before sitting down hard. He looked at Nico, who was still watching in horror, and crawled over to the boy. He pulled Nico's face into his chest so that Nico couldn't look at Hazel's dead body anymore.

"We need to get out of here. We need to find somewhere safe. We're going to die if we stay here," Thalia sobbed.

"Where are we going to go?" Percy hissed.

"We need to call for help," Kinzie replied, fumbling for her phone in her pocket. "No, no, no. It's dead."

"Maybe Will's truck is still drivable," Nico suggested.

"Or maybe he fixed one of the vehicles before he was run off," Thalia added.

Percy stared at Nico for a while before nodding. "We have to get the others first. I'm not going to leave them to die," he agreed.

* * *

Nico clutched the back of Percy's shirt as he led Nico and Kinzie down the stairs. Nico's entire body was shaking by this point. Normally, Kinzie might tease him for something like that, but the girl was too busy quietly sobbing.

They had split up with Thalia and Frank, who were going to check upstairs for the others. Percy had suggested that they check downstairs. Nico didn't care which floor they took, as long as he was with Percy. He didn't want to leave his friend's side, he couldn't, or he might have a nervous breakdown. He just wanted this to be a bad dream that he would wake up from soon.

Percy raised a hand for them to stop when they heard whispers coming from the kitchen. Percy released a breath and led them silently towards the back of the house. Nico's breathing became ragged. He wanted to grab Percy's hand and stop him, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Percy was protective of his friends, and wasn't going to just abandon them. Percy peered around the corner, letting out a heavy breath and pulling Nico and Kinzie into the kitchen.

Octavian was crouched in front of the sink, his arms wrapped around his knees. Will was busy going through the drawers. "Where the hell did you run off to?" Percy hissed.

Will looked up as he pulled a knife out of the drawer he was poking around in. "Sorry. The girls ran off, and I wasn't about to stick around to get killed," he explained.

Octavian got off the ground and pulled Nico into his arms. Nico tried to protest, but sighed and relaxed his body. He didn't want to be pulled away from Percy. He wanted Percy's touch, not Octavian's.

"Nico, I was worried about you," the blond whispered into Nico's ear. He glanced at Percy. "Thank you."

Percy nodded. "He had a close call, but he's alright," Percy replied. "We lost Hazel, though."

Octavian stiffened. "What happened?"

Percy shook his head. "You don't want to know."

Nico pushed away from Octavian with a frown. His boyfriend tilted his head to the side. Nico shrunk in on himself as he stared at the floor.

"So, where's the rest of your group?" Will asked, stabbing the fork down into the counter.

"They went to find the others," Percy answered.

Will nodded. He glanced over Percy's body, running his tongue out across his lips. It gave Nico the creeps. Something about the blond was bothering Nico. He sighed when he felt Percy rubbing his back. They just needed to find Annabeth, Luke, Piper, and Jason, and then meet back up with Frank and Thalia so they could try and escape.

But, where were they going to go? It was half an hour by car to the nearest town. That would take hours to walk. Not to mention they were in the middle of a dark forest. Even if one of the vehicles did work, they had to run through those woods just to check on it.

"D-Do you know if your truck works?" Nico asked, his voice trembling. "Or did you manage to put new tires on one of our cars?"

Will's eyes flickered from Percy to Nico. "I can't really say. It sounded like whatever it is crushed the cars, to be honest," he replied.

Percy sighed. They all fell silent and turned when they heard the floor creak. Percy stepped into the hall and glanced around before returning to the kitchen. "There's nothing there that I can see," the black-haired boy whispered.

The cabinet doors all flew open, causing Kinzie to shriek in terror. Nico's heart was pounding in his chest. He clutched his hand over his heart as he tried to regain his breathing. Why couldn't this just be a bad dream? He didn't want to die like this.

The drawer that Will had been poking around in was ripped out of the counter. Knives flew out and impaled Octavian to the refrigerator. Nico cried out and stumbled back. Knives were imbedded into Octavian's arm, leg, hand, and shoulder. There was a groaning noise from the refrigerator, and the knives began turning in Octavian's flesh.

Octavian screamed and tried to pull the knives out of him, but he couldn't reach. Percy shot forward and yanked one of them out, although it took a while for him to work one free. Nico shut his eyes as the bloody knife was thrown to the floor at Nico's feet. Kinzie covered her head as the oven turned on.

The refrigerator groaned as it started to move towards the oven. Percy's eyes widened as he went about trying to pry the other knives out of Octavian. The knife in Octavian's hand ripped down through the flesh. There was a growling noise from the oven, followed by a long shadowy arm shooting out to grab Octavian by his waist.

The blond screamed as he was ripped off of the refrigerator, leaving the now bloody knives embedded in its surface. Percy grabbed Octavian's arm, sliding across the floor as the blond was pulled toward the oven's mouth. Nico could feel the heat radiating from it. Kinzie tried to run, but ended up tripping over Nico. Will seemed to be frozen in place in the corner as he watched the event happen.

Percy's grip on Octavian began to slide as the blood poured out of the blond's torn hand, and Percy gasped as Octavian's hand slipped from his own and he fell back onto the floor. Nico covered his mouth and began sobbing as Octavian was pulled inside the burning oven. The blond screamed as loud as he could as his flesh came in contact with the burning metal. Octavian's bones were broken as his body was compacted so it would fit snuggly into the oven. The blond reached out for help when the oven door slammed shut on him. Kinzie screamed as the blond's bloody arm landed on the kitchen floor.

Nico could feel burning hot tears streaming down his face. He couldn't move. He just sat there, staring in horror at the oven. Percy lay still on the floor, his eyes full of panic. His mouth kept opening and closing, unsure of what to do.

Nico turned his head when he heard Kinzie gagging. She was hunched over on the floor and expelling the contents of her stomach. She sobbed softly and sat against the wall. "We need to get out of here," she whispered desperately.

"We need to...we need to find the others first," Percy reminded her.

"Fuck that, I'm getting out of here," Will said before running past Nico.

"Wait!" Percy called after him. He cursed and stood up, running into the hall. He slammed his fist into the wall and walked back into the kitchen. He kneeled down in front of Nico and wiped the tears away. Nico wrapped his arms around Percy's neck and pulled his best friend closer to him.

Percy sighed and wrapped his arms around Nico. He could feel Percy's lips against his forehead, though, they weren't kissing him like he had always wanted. He could vaguely make out Percy mumbling something against his forehead. It sounded like "I'm not going to lose you" being repeated over and over as he rocked them softly.

"What about me?" Kinzie huffed.

Percy didn't respond right away. He moved his head so that he could look into Nico's eyes, their noses touching. "Nico almost died earlier. Be more compassionate," Percy mumbled. He went back to his earlier position, and Nico could vaguely feel Percy's lips pressing against his forehead.

"I'm alright," Nico whispered.

Percy pulled back. Nico glanced at the dried blood that had stained the side of his friend's face earlier. He always Percy got injured. Now, he just hoped that Percy would make it out of this alive. Three were dead now, and who knew how many more would be killed before they got to safety. If they got to safety.

Percy finally nodded and pulled Nico to his feet. "We need to find the others, quickly," he whispered.

* * *

Luke and Annabeth ran out the front door. Annabeth screamed when a window burst as they were running around the house. Luke had a tight grip on her wrist, and was refusing to let go. He dragged her towards the woods while she tried digging her heels into the ground. She didn't want to go into the forest. They wouldn't be able to see anything in there.

"Luke, we can't just leave without the others," Annabeth protested.

"I'm not going to wait around for whatever that was to kill us," Luke growled as he kept running.

Annabeth gasped and Luke came to a halt when they saw a human figure walk out from behind a tree. It was waiting for them. Was there nowhere to run? Was there nowhere to hide? There had to be a way out. There was always a way out. There just had to be.

Luke yanked on Annabeth's arm again and headed away from the woods. They ran down the hill in the direction of the lake. "Luke, the lake won't be safe," she tried.

Luke squeezed her hand tighter. "Where else can we go? It's in the house. It's in the woods. Who knows where else it could be?"

"We're safest in the house."

"No, it's too dangerous."

Annabeth felt a chill run down her spine. She could hear something breathing behind her. She turned, but found nothing there. A cold wind picked up, rustling some leaves behind them. Annabeth stumbled, falling to the ground, and pulling Luke along with her.

She screamed when she felt something wrap around her leg. Luke fumbled in the grass as she was yanked across the ground. Her boyfriend lunged and grabbed her hand, putting an end to her being dragged. Luke helped her up and picked some leaves from her hair. She had a small cut on her cheek, and dirt was caked under her fingernails.

"Come on," Luke insisted, pulling her towards the lake again.

"Where are we going to go?" Annabeth cried. Luke didn't answer. "Luke?"

"I...don't know, but we'll find some way to get out of here safely."

Annabeth was beginning to get winded. She wasn't used to running this much, especially not this fast. Her legs were staring to burn, and her heart was threatening to explode. Luke gasped as he tripped.

The two of them tumbled down the hill towards the lake. Annabeth hit her head a few times as she tumbled down through the grass. She landed on the edge of the water, clutching her sides. Her body ached so much from the running and the fall.

She suddenly panicked when she noticed that Luke wasn't beside her. She looked at the lake, which had large ripples moving across the water. She crawled to the edge and stuck her hands in, trying to grab Luke.

The blonde screamed when she felt something grab her hand. Luke emerged from the water, coughing up water. He rested on the edge of the water. Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief. Luke spat some water out and looked up at Annabeth.

Luke's eyes widened. He was pulled back under the water, his fingernails digging into the earth. Annabeth screamed and reached in after him, but couldn't find anything. The water thrashed around, some bubbles coming to the surface. Annabeth cried as she frantically felt around beneath the water. The water was slowly beginning to still, the bubbles fading.

She sobbed loudly and scrambled away from the water's edge when blood began to flow to the surface. She stumbled back onto her feet and began running back towards the house. She held a hand firmly over her mouth as she sobbed. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.

The blonde shrieked and began sobbing frantically as something grabbed her hair. She was thrown onto her back and dragged towards the house. Her eyes widened as she saw what she was being pulled towards. The house's water hydrant. The hose wasn't attached, and her head was headed straight for it. She began kicking around as she choked out more sobs. It couldn't end like this. She didn't want to die here, not like this.

She was suddenly tackled by a black headed blur. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she looked up to see Percy's face. Nico and Kinzie came jogging over to them as Percy sat them both up. "What happened?" Percy asked in panic.

"L-Luke," was all Annabeth could get out.

Percy glanced around, probably searching for the blond in question. "Where is he?"

Annabeth broke down and cried while clutching Percy's shirt. "He's dead," she croaked out.

"We need to get out of here," Kinzie hissed.

Percy's eyes darted over to his girlfriend. "I'm not leaving the others," he growled.

"They could already be dead as well."

"Fine, you want to try escaping on your own? Go right ahead," Percy said harshly. "But I'm staying here to make sure the others escape too."

Kinzie pursed her lips. Percy slowly helped Annabeth stand back up. "Thank you," Annabeth cried into Percy's shirt. "I thought I was going to die."

Nico rubbed his arm. "Percy, I don't want to be out here anymore," he pleaded.

Percy nodded, wrapping an arm around Annabeth's shoulder. He guided the blonde girl back towards the house. "Wh-who else are we looking for?" Annabeth asked.

"Piper, Thalia, Frank, Jason, and Will," Percy listed off.

Annabeth opened her mouth to ask about Hazel and Octavian, but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. Something told her it was going to be the same thing that happened to Luke. What was this thing? Why was it doing this?

* * *

Jason fumbled up the stairs, glancing back at the shadows dancing across the walls. He gasped when he heard the house creak, and darted up the rest of the stairs. Piper grabbed his hand and helped him back onto his feet. Frank fumbled with a doorknob and motioned for them to get in. Thalia ducked as she entered the room, a vase flying past her head.

Jason slammed the door shut behind them, his eyes wide with terror. This wasn't exactly how he pictured this trip going. Frank had told him that Hazel was now dead, and judging by the screams he had heard, at least two more probably were.

When they had heard the last scream, they had headed for the stairs. Jason had seen Percy run outside, followed by Kinzie and Nico. But, when their group tried to run down after them, those shadows had tried attacking them.

And now they were trapped back upstairs. How were they supposed to escape from this? He didn't think he had ever been this terrified in his life. Jason's eyes widened in horror when he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. He dug his feet into the ground when he saw the doorknob start to jiggle.

Thalia and Piper screamed when the something started banging on the door. Jason gritted his teeth and pushed against the door with all of his might. Frank shot off the floor and came to help him. Jason felt so cold. The entire house felt like one big freezer. He wanted to say that was the reason he was shaking so badly, but he knew it would be a lie.

Loud scratching could now be heard from the other side of the door, just like they had heard at the door the previous night. They should have run when they had had the chance. They shouldn't have come here.

Jason shut his eyes tightly when he heard a loud scraping noise out in the hall. The house fell silent, and Jason slowly opened his blue eyes. Piper and Thalia were silently crying on the floor, clutching each other tightly. Frank and Jason stared at each other for a moment before they moved away from the door. Jason reached for the doorknob.

"What are you doing?" Piper hissed.

"I need to check and see if it's clear," he explained.

"Don't be crazy," Thalia replied.

"At least let me see if I can find a flashlight. I'm tired of stumbling around in the darkness while we're trying to run from this thing."

"You're going to get yourself killed."

Jason sighed and looked at Frank. "Be ready to shut this door, even if I'm not back yet."

Frank opened his mouth to protest, but Jason silenced him with a stern glare. Frank nodded reluctantly and opened the door. Jason crept out into the hall. He gulped when he saw the deep claw marks on the walls. He turned around to look at the door, which had a few inches of wood scratched off.

Jason looked one way and then the other before walking across to his and Piper's room. He knew he had packed a flashlight. He just needed to get to his backpack. He eased the door open and peered inside. It was hard to see anything in the dark, but it looked empty.

He opted to leave the door open, not sure if he would need to make a quick escape. He crouched at the foot of the bed where he had sat his backpack. He quickly unzipped it and dug through its contents. He let out a breath when his fingers brushed against the handle of the flashlight. He pulled it out and turned it on.

His eyes widened as the light landed on a black figure in the doorway. It had no face, nor did it really have a body. It was just a black mass that was in the shape of a human. It lunged for Jason, who tried to back away. He fell to the ground when the thing grabbed his leg, the flashlight rolling under the bed.

He kicked at it, but his leg seemed to pass through it. He scrambled away and got on the other side of the bed. When the thing moved towards him, he rolled across the mattress and bolted out the door. He dove back into the room, where Frank shut the door behind him.

"What happened?" Thalia asked.

"I saw it," Jason replied.

"What was it?" Frank asked, crouching over Jason.

Jason shook his head slowly. "I-I don't know. It wasn't human, I know that much."

Jason sat himself up against the bed. His felt light headed and his stomach was in knots. He wove his fingers into his short blond hair as he panted heavily. He had never been one to cry, but at the moment, he really wanted to. The only thing that stopped him was the girl that crawled over to hide to her face in Jason's side.

"W-we need to find the others," Frank pointed out.

Jason didn't have the chance to respond before he heard the front door open downstairs. He heard Kinzie scream and then there were footsteps running across the floor downstairs. Jason shut his eyes momentarily. He didn't want to go back out there, but he knew that the others had come back inside to look for them.

Jason pulled Piper up with him. Holding her close, Jason slowly walked over to the door. He cracked it open and peered outside. When he didn't see anything, he opened it up more to poke his head out. He signaled for the others to follow him before creeping out into the hall.

"Kinzie!" Percy screamed from downstairs, which was followed by a loud thud. He heard Nico yell before some glass broke.

They needed to get down there. Jason turned to whisper something to Frank. His eyes widened when he saw the shadow quickly moving towards them. Piper screamed as the thing barreled into all four of them. They were knocked into the railing of the stairs, which broke, sending them over the edge.

Jason felt the breath get knocked out of him on impact. He rolled onto his side, where Frank was clutching the back of his head. He spun his head around when he heard Thalia scream. He heard something snap, and he looked up just in time to see the chandelier falling down. He rolled away, only to notice that Piper wasn't moving.

She screamed as the chandelier fell on top of her, crushing her. Jason sat there with wide eyes, his breathing heavily ragged. He felt his eyes starting to water. He tried to move towards his girlfriend, but Frank grabbed him and began pulling him away.

Frank dragged him down the hall, where Jason assumed Percy and the others had run. He turned back to his sister, who was still frozen in place against the wall, staring at Piper's dead body. Jason began sobbing as he looked at the blood pouring out from under the chandelier.

"Thalia, we need to run!" Frank yelled at her.

She tried to get up, but screamed when something grabbed her ankle. Jason watched in horror as a shadowy figure appeared in the moonlight that was being cast into the living room. He saw as it pulled Thalia towards it. Jason's eyes widened when the figure's mouth expanded, cringing when he heard the bones of the figure's jaw cracking. He attempted to run back for her, but Frank wouldn't release him.

"No!" Jason yelled as he watched the figure raise Thalia above its head and slide her, whole, into its mouth.

Jason's stomach lurched as he heard the crunching sound of Thalia's bones in the thing's mouth. He placed his hand against the wall and hunched over to throw up. Frank didn't give him a chance to try and go after whatever had just killed his sister, though, and yanked on Jason's arm, dragging him down the hall.

As they were nearing the library that Percy's father had put in the house, Jason could hear hushed whispers. He yanked on Frank's arm and stopped in front of the door. He flung the door open, and he and Frank ran into the room. The room fell silent as everyone looked at them.

Percy and Annabeth were searching the bookshelves. Nico sat in a nearby chair with a cut on his arm. Kinzie stood a few feet away from Percy and Annabeth, a large gash on her forehead. Annabeth looked pretty banged up herself, with a cut on her cheek and dirt covered hands. Percy looked relatively fine, a cut on his head being his only noticeable injury. Though, his clothes were mildly torn.

"There you guys are," Percy said, sounding relieved. "Where are the others?"

Jason shook his head. "P-P-" Jason tried, but couldn't get the words out.

"Piper and Thalia didn't make it," Frank said for him.

Percy's head fell. "Did you...did you run into Will?" Percy croaked.

Jason shook his head. He furrowed his eyebrows as he watched Annabeth sift through some books. "What's going on?" Jason asked.

"Annabeth thinks there might be something here on this thing."

Frank tilted his head to the side. "Why would you think that?" He asked, turning to the blonde.

"Because," Annabeth began, stretching to reach the top shelf, "this house has been in Percy's family for years. So, someone in his family might have had some information on the thing." She glanced at Percy. "It might have even been the real cause of his father's death."

Percy frowned. "But he died of a heart attack. He wasn't torn limb from limb. He was fully intact when my mother found him," Percy retorted.

"Percy," Nico whined.

Percy sighed and walked over to the smaller boy. Nico whispered in his ear. Percy shook his head and touched Nico's cheek. He forced a smile onto his face and whispered something back to Nico.

"Yo, blondie. You want to help me?" Annabeth barked at him.

Jason quickly nodded and went over to a different shelf.

* * *

The room was relatively quiet. The only real noise that could be heard were the flipping of pages as Frank, Jason, and Annabeth searched through book after book. But Nico wasn't watching them. His focus lay on the boy in front of him.

Percy had his arms on Nico's lap, resting his chin on top of them, as he watched Nico. Nico hadn't spoken much since the kitchen incident. He couldn't help but feel lousy. The last thing he had wanted to talk to Octavian about had been their breakup, but he had never gotten the chance.

"We're going to make it out of this, Nico," Percy whispered.

"You don't know that," Nico mumbled.

Percy squeezed his hand. "I do know that. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"You can't guarantee my safety from this thing."

"I'll protect you."

"I'm not going to have you get hurt for me," Nico shot back.

"I'm not asking your permission." Percy squeezed his hand. "I'm not going to lose you. I care too much about you."

Nico felt his heart race. Even if he knew Percy meant only as a friend, it still made him happy to hear those words. "And I care about you, so I can't let you going and getting yourself killed," Nico said.

Percy bit down on his lip. "Nico, there's something I need to talk to you about. I just don't think this is a good time."

Nico tilted his head to the side. "What is it?" He asked.

Percy cleared his throat. "It's something I should have realized a long time ago, but didn't want to accept." He let out a long sigh. "I think-"

"I think I found something," Annabeth said, interrupting Percy.

Nico groaned as Percy stood up and walked over to the blonde girl. He sighed and pulled his legs up to his chest. Was Percy really about to say what he thought he was? Kinzie was leering at him. He stared back at her for a few seconds before staring at Percy's back, which was hunched over a table with a lantern on it.

"This sounds like what we're dealing with. Tell me what you think," Annabeth continued.

"The Abdotor," Percy began reading, "is a symbiotic entity that feeds on and integrates human souls. Any and all humans who die within close proximity to the entity serve as its sustenance, as well as adding themseves to the collective knowledge and power of the Abdotor." He looked over at Annabeth. "Do you know how crazy this sounds?"

"Are we really going to use that word, after all we've seen tonight?"

Percy sighed and went back to reading. "It implants itself into the mind of its host. Instead of taking over the person's mind, integrates itself into their psyche and soul. The person's traits become enhanced, and the Abdotor becomes a part of the host's subconscious, influencing the will of the host, and imparting the knowledge and memories of previous hosts and victims to its current host. However, the sudden gain in knowledge and power can prove detrimental to the normal human psyche, potentially shattering the mind of the host." Percy took a long breath. "However, there will be no fundamental changes to the person acting as host's original personality, and they will be able to appear relatively normal, barring any complications during the melding."

"So, basically, they are still the same person?" Kinzie asked in confusion.

Percy shrugged. "It sounds like it. They just have the desire to eat people and can go insane."

"But what I saw didn't appear human," Jason argued.

"Keep reading," Annabeth persisted.

"The Abdotor is capable of casting illusions, which are intended to drive its victims to the brink of insanity before devouring them," Percy continued. He glanced up at Jason with a frown. Jason had visibly paled. Had they not even seen the real thing? "It has a variety of other powers and abilities that have not been fully documented. One of interest, however, is the Abdotor's immortality. The host seems to develop this quality as well, providing a potentially permanent body for the Abdotor."

"Holy shit," Frank exclaimed.

"However, like many spiritual entities, they are not able to cross thresholds, such as the entrance to a house or home," Percy continued.

"Someone should tell it that," Nico mumbled

Annabeth shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense. If it can't cross boundaries, how did it get in here?" She voiced the question that was on everyone's mind.

Percy nodded his head. "Alright, it says right here that the only way it can enter something like a house is if it is given permission to enter," he explained.

"But we didn't invite it in," Kinzie countered. Percy shrugged. That didn't make any sense. Annabeth chewed on her lip, remaining quiet. Nico recognized that look in her eye. She suspected something.

"Can we kill it?" Jason asked.

Percy shrugged. "Let's see what it says for ki-"

Percy fell silent as the door swung open. Will stood in the doorway, eyes wide with panic. He walked forward, only to stumble backwards. Nico's eyebrows furrowed. Percy narrowed his eyes, swiping his thumb across his lip. Annabeth's eyes widened.

"Will, what are you doing?" Percy asked cautiously.

Will glanced around the edges of the doorframe. "I was looking for all of you. We need to get out of here," he replied.

Kinzie moved forward, but Percy raised his arm in front of her. Will frowned. "What are you doing, Percy?" Kinzie asked. "He's right. We need to get out of here."

Percy shook his head. "We're not going with him," he hissed.

"My truck might be our best chance," Will reasoned.

Annabeth shook her head. "No," she replied.

"There's not much time."

Annabeth swallowed. "Why are you just standing out there, Will?"

Will's lips twitched. He shrugged. "Do you want me to come in there?"

Annabeth shook her head. Kinzie huffed. "What's wrong with you people? Of-" she started, but Percy slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Don't tell him to come in," Percy growled.

Kinzie narrowed her eyes and shoved Percy's hand off of her. "What are you talking about?"

"He's the Abdotor," Annabeth said.

Nico's eyes widened, as did Kinzie's. Will didn't respond. He just kept standing in the hall. If it wasn't true, why didn't he come into the library? Nico shook his head. "Wait, why can't he come in here? We already let him into the house?" Nico reasoned.

Annabeth glanced around the room. "Maybe there's something protecting it," she guessed.

Percy cursed himself under his breath. Nico frowned at him. He knew Percy was now going to blame himself for all of this. But it wasn't his fault. He hadn't known. None of them had.

"Get real," Kinzie scoffed. "I'm not sticking around here to let the real thing get me. I'm getting out while I can." She took off, running towards the door.

"Kinzie, wait!" Percy called after her.

"Don't go out there," Jason pleaded.

Kinzie stopped in front of the door to turn around and roll her eyes at them. She stepped across the threshold, and Will's eyes darkened. He licked his lips, giving Nico the shivers.

As Kinzie stepped further into the hall, bugs of every kind began to pour forth from the edges of the room, so many that it seemed like a living carpet of chitin. Kinzie screamed in horror as she backed up against the doorframe. The bugs started to crawl up her legs and fly down her throat, and she began coughing and gagging. Will's lips tilted up into a sadistic grin. Nico stumbled out of the chair when Percy tried to go over to the blonde. Percy looked back at him, and Nico shook his head.

Kinzie fell to the floor, her upper half landing in the room. Percy pulled away from Nico and went over to the fallen girl. Kinzie was still screaming when Nico came over to her. He nearly gagged at the sight of her.

He could see the bugs crawling around under her skin. Kinzie continued to scream, and Nico assumed that the bugs were eating away at her insides. Kinzie began hitting her face. She then began to rip out some of her hair, clawing at her skull.

Nico covered his mouth. Percy stood back up and made Nico look away. He glared back at Will, who was now kneeling down in the doorway. He grinned and yanked Kinzie out of the room. The blonde screamed as she was dragged across the wooden floor, her nails scratching the floor.

Percy slammed the door shut so they wouldn't have to see any more of the girl's gruesome death. Nico turned to Percy, who was still staring at the closed door. "Percy," Nico whispered.

Percy tore his eyes away to look at Nico. Nico's heart sank when he noticed the broken look in his friend's eyes. Nico tugged on Percy's hand and led him over to the chair, where he made Percy sit down.

Nico glanced at Annabeth, who stood motionless with her hand over her mouth. Jason had his hands pressed to his temple as he mumbled incoherently. Frank looked to be having a panic attack next to the blond. Nico didn't know what to do. That thing was out in the hall. They were trapped in this room.

The only good news was that it couldn't enter the room without their permission. And now that they knew what it was, they weren't going to give it. Nico rubbed Percy's arm gently, wanting to comfort the fallen boy.

"That thing probably killed my father," Percy whispered.

"I-It's possible," Annabeth fumbled.

"Is he even the mechanic's nephew?" Jason barked.

Annabeth shrugged, though her eyes were wide and her shoulders trembled. "I don't know," she whispered. She then proceeded to tap her finger to her lips. "Traditionally, cemeteries are seen as holy ground. That thing might not be able to get to us there."

"What's your point?" Nico asked, raising a brow.

Annabeth's lips thinned. "We can't stay here."

Frank flailed his arms. "You can't be suggesting we go out there," he argued. "What if we wait until morning?"

Annabeth shook her head. "We don't know that it will matter. Will came to the house when it was still daylight."

"We could use the cemetery as a waypoint on our way to the cars," Jason pointed out.

Annabeth nodded. "It should be weak there, if it can enter at all. We might even be able to kill it," she agreed.

"And if the vehicles don't work?" Nico asked.

"What choice do we have?"

Nico sighed and dropped his head. He blinked when he felt Percy touch his cheek. He looked up into Percy's green orbs. "I'm sorry," Percy whispered.

Nico tilted his head to the side. "For what?" He whispered back.

"Bringing you here. It's my fault."

Nico shook his head. "No. You can't blame yourself because of this."

Percy sighed. "I...I'm also sorry for everything over the past month."

Nico frowned. "What are you talking about, Percy?"

"We should have talked after the kiss," Percy whispered.

"Percy-"

"No, I should have talked to you about it."

"It's ok. It's not a big deal. I was stupid and-"

Percy shook his head furiously. "No, you weren't," he argued. "I was the one that was stupid. I've been stupid for years. And now I just keep thinking about that saying about not noticing what was right in front of you all along."

Nico's eyebrows furrowed. Percy's fingers slipped back into his hair. "What are you saying?"

"I, uh, liked the kiss," Percy confessed. "But, I didn't want to accept that I did."

"Not that this isn't long overdue, but is this really the time?" Annabeth said. "We're trying not to die here."

Percy sighed. "I need to do this. You were right, Annabeth."

"Of course I was," she scoffed.

"I need to say this. Just in case we do-"

"Don't say it," Jason groaned. "We have to make it out of this."

Percy nodded. He looked back at Nico. "Still, I want to make sure that you know, just in case," he whispered to the brown-eyed boy. "I guess it just took a life threatening situation to make me realize what I really care about."

"We need to be making a run for it," Frank voiced.

Percy nodded, standing up. He brushed Nico's hair behind his ear. "I'm sorry, for not realizing all of this sooner. And if we make it out of this-"

"We will make it out of this," Nico mumbled.

Percy smiled. He tilted face up and leaned down, pressing his lips against Nico's. The younger boy's eyes widened. Percy pulled away with a small smile before leaning back in to peck Nico's lips again. For the first time that night, Nico smiled.

It was short lived, however, when the house groaned. "We need to get out of here!" Annabeth yelled, grabbing the book off of the table.

"We need something to kill Will with," Jason pointed out.

Percy nodded. The group ran over to the door, flinging it open. Kinzie's body was gone, but a trail of blood led down the hall. Percy grabbed Nico's hand and ran towards the front of the house. Annabeth screamed when a picture flew off the wall and crashed into her. She stumbled to keep moving, but ended up dropping the book onto the floor. The childish laughter echoed throughout the house.

Jason screamed and ducked. Nico's eyes widened as a pair of hedge clippers were embedded into the wall by his head. Percy's eyes sparked. He grabbed the clippers and pried them out of the wall. He gave them an experimental snip, smiling to himself. Without a single word, he grabbed Nico's arm and took off towards the door again, tossing the hedge clippers to Annabeth.

Percy jumped over the chandelier, quickly helping Nico over. Frank and the others jumped over and they all headed for the door. A small table by the door flew off the ground. It came at Nico, who stood frozen in place. Percy jumped in front of him, wrapping his arms around Nico. Percy winced as the wood slammed into his back.

Annabeth already had the door open. Percy grabbed Nico's hand again and pulled him towards the door. Jason tripped on the front porch, flying through the air, and landing in the gravel. He groaned and rolled over, his eyes widening. Nico turned to find out what Jason was looking at, his own eyes growing in panic.

Frank stood in the doorway of the house, sputtering up blood. He fell to the floor, revealing Will behind him. A fist sized hole was in Frank's back, and blood was pouring from the orifice. Will grinned at them. In his hand was Frank's still beating heart. He raised it to his mouth and took a sickening bite out of it.

"Go," Percy whispered, shoving Nico towards the woods. Nico took off running, hearing Percy's footsteps behind him. Annabeth had already taken off running, and was already halfway to the border of the woods, Jason hot on her heels.

Nico chanced a glance back at the house to see Will working on devouring Frank's body. Percy grabbed his hand and picked up the pace. Nico was forced to look away from the house in order to keep his balance. He wasn't sure he could keep up, though. He wasn't in the physical shape that Percy was.

Nico started sobbing when they reached the forest. He could barely see two feet in front of his face, let alone some killer trying to murder them. He couldn't die now, though. Percy admitted he had feelings for him. He couldn't just have it all end now.

He could hear Jason's breathing not far ahead of them. Annabeth's soft crying could also be heard. She was probably muffling herself with her hand. Percy squeezed Nico's hand tighter. Nico was having trouble breathing at this point. With a mix of all the running and fear he had suffered tonight, he felt like he was about to pass out. He gasped for breath as Percy continued to force him to run towards the graveyard.

"We made it," Annabeth whispered in the darkness.

Percy jogged to a stop, which Nico was most grateful for. He hunched over and rested his hands on his knees, his breathing ragged. His hair was matted down to his head from all of the sweat. He felt Percy's lips press against his temple.

"You're going to be ok," he whispered reassuringly.

Nico heard the gate creak open, and Percy grabbed his hand again. He was led inside the cemetery, where the group walked around in the darkness. He could see a little better, since the cemetery was in a small clearing, allowing moonlight to shine down on them. He stiffened when he heard leaves crunching behind them.

Will emerged from the shadows, his crazed smile in place. "Thank you for leaving the library. I'd hate for you to have starved in there. Then all of you would have gone to waste," he chuckled darkly.

Percy grabbed Nico's arm and dragged him into the shadows of the graveyard, hiding them behind a mausoleum. Nico spotted Annabeth a few feet away, hiding in front of the angel statue. Jason had laid himself in front of a long tombstone, curled up into a ball. Nico heard the gate swing shut. They were trapped.

Percy grabbed Nico's face and turned it to look at him. Nico's eyes were wide with fear. He pressed a hand to Nico's mouth to try and silence him, but Nico's sobs still made a little noise. Percy raised a finger to his lips and pleaded with his eyes for Nico to be silent. Nico wanted to obey the request, but he couldn't stop.

The green-eyed boy leaned forward and pressed his lips to Nico's. Nico let out a silent gasp, his eyes drifting closed. He kissed Percy back, letting himself be distracted by Percy's perfect pink lips. He cracked his eyes open. Percy hadn't shut his eyes. They were staring behind Nico at the graveyard. He was keeping an eye out for Will, wanting to calm Nico down, but not wanting to jeopardize them by getting distracted by the kiss.

Nico pulled back from the kiss to turn his head when he heard a tombstone break. Percy pulled him closer to his chest. Jason screamed when Will peered over the tombstone he was hiding in front of. Percy placed a firm grip on Nico, placing his hand back over Nico's mouth.

Jason scrambled across the grass as Will closed in on him. Will smiled, running a bloody hand into his golden blond hair. His lips were so disturbing, the way they formed such a crooked and sadistic grin. Then there were his eyes, and Nico now understood the meaning behind the hungry look in them. He hadn't been lusting after Percy's body. He had wanted to devour Percy, literally.

Nico pressed himself farther into Percy's chest. Will crawled on top of Jason, pinning the other blond under him. His grin widened, showing his blood stained teeth off. Jason tried pushing the other off as Will lowered his face toward the blond under him.

Nico gasped as he watched Will stick his tongue out, sliding it into Jason's mouth. What kind of weird game was this? Jason let out a muffled scream as his body started to thrash about. His eyes had gone wide. Nico's eyes then widened as he saw movement in Jason's throat. Will's tongue had extended down into Jason.

Will pulled back with a wide grin, and, to Nico's horror, he had Jason's tongue dangling from his mouth. Will slurped it up and licked his lips. Jason coughed up some blood as Will climbed off of him. Nico whimpered as he watched Jason's body grow still, his head lolling off to the side.

"Stay here," Percy whispered in Nico's ear.

Nico shook his head, placing a death grip on Percy's shirt. "No, please don't leave me alone," he sobbed.

Percy kissed his forehead. "I need to kill him, or he'll just kill us."

Nico bit his lip and continued to cry quietly as Percy pulled away from him. He watched as Annabeth and Percy locked eyes, both of them nodding at each other. She held up the clippers and they both stepped out of their hiding spots.

Will grinned at them. "Well, that's awfully nice of you to save me the trouble of hunting for you," he chuckled.

Annabeth stepped over to Percy and handed him the clippers. "Did you kill my father?" Percy growled at.

Will's grin grew once again. "Oh yes, I most certainly did. He thought he could kill me, just as so many did before him. I've been hunting in this area for a long time now."

"You weren't even sent to fix our cars, were you?" Annabeth asked through sobs.

Will chuckled. "Well, you are a smart little girl, now aren't you? No, I waylaid the mechanic on his way here, ate him, and took his place." He showed off his bloody teeth to Percy. "Oh, I thought about just eating you all last night, but when I saw you, Percy, I just thought I could have a little fun."

"Why?" Percy snarled.

Will let his head fall to the side in a creepy manner. "I thought I could reunite you with your father," he rasped out.

Percy grabbed the clippers with both hands. "Well, I'm sorry, but I'm leaving here with my friends."

Will let out an odd sounding chuckle. He growled, his eyes turning bestial as he lunged at Percy. The green-eyed boy countered by swinging the clippers at Will, beaming him in the head. Will tumbled back over a tombstone. Annabeth ran over and tried to pin him down, but Will grabbed her by the throat. Annabeth's mouth fell open as she clutched at her throat.

Will tossed her away, sending her crashing into the angel she had been hiding behind. Nico winced at the horrid cracking sound her body made when she impacted the statue. Annabeth fell to the ground with a groan. She then proceeded to scream as the statue wobbled and fell on top of her, crushing her body into the ground. Nico let out a sob as Annabeth's hand fell lifelessly to the ground.

Will grinned as he darted his eyes over to the mausoleum. Percy growled and stepped in front of Will. When the blond made a move for Nico, Percy clamped the clippers onto Will's wrist, slicing off one of his hands. Will howled in pain, causing birds to fly off from the trees they had been resting in.

Percy quickly moved the hedge clippers to Will's neck, grunting as he sliced through the skin. Nico watched with wide eyes as Will's head fell off of his body, rolling across the grass. The rest of Will's body crumpled to the ground. Percy dropped the hedge clippers and stumbled back.

Nico sat still for a moment. Was it over? He had just been expecting more. But, he supposed it didn't have to be like in the movies. He frowned at Percy's back. The older boy was still standing still. "Percy?" Nico whispered.

Percy slowly turned around, his lips tilting up into a small smile for Nico. Nico pushed himself off the ground and ran to the boy. He let himself be wrapped in Percy's arms, enjoying himself as Percy's nose rested in his hair.

Percy pulled him back and kissed from Nico's forehead down to his lips, placing several kisses on them once there. Nico smiled and let his shoulders relax. He turned to look at their dead friends, but Percy held his face so that he was looking at him.

"You've seen enough tonight. It's over," Percy whispered. "Let's get our things so we can leave."

Nico nodded. His body was exhausted. He was ready to get as far away from this place as possible. He was ready to return to his normal life. Nico frowned. Well, as normal as it was going to be, now that he had lost so many of his friends.

Percy smiled and grabbed Nico's hand, leading them back to the house. He smiled in the darkness as he felt Percy rub circles into his hand. For the first time all day, he finally felt at ease. "We need to get our things. I'd also like to get what we can out of the library. I don't feel comfortable leaving it all out here," Percy whispered.

Percy led them back into the clearing. Nico pursed his lips as they neared the house. He wasn't sure he wanted to see all the death. Percy covered Nico's eyes and led him up the stairs so that he wouldn't have to see Frank's dead body.

Once inside, Percy sent him upstairs. "I'm going to fix the generator real quick. Pack our stuff while I go do that. I'll go grab the books when I'm done outside," Percy instructed him.

Nico nodded his head reluctantly. Percy kissed the top of his head and walked outside. Nico walked up the rest of the stairs. The balcony railing at the top of the stairs was still broken, and the chandelier still lay on the ground, but Piper's body was gone.

Nico's heart stopped for a split second when the lights turned on. He placed a hand over his chest and tried to regain his breathing. The door closed behind him and he heard Percy walk around downstairs.

He sighed and entered the room he and Octavian were supposed to have shared. The room was untouched, much to his relief. He grabbed his backpack and duffle-bag, tossing them on the bed. He grabbed what few items he had set out before venturing down the hall to the bathroom. He quickly gathered up his and Percy's stuff.

Once back in the room, he stuffed everything into his duffle-bag. Slinging his backpack onto his shoulder, he picked up the duffle-bag and left the room. He headed down to the room Kinzie had been sleeping in. He shuddered when he laid eyes on the claw marks in the door.

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and Percy appeared in the doorway. He had a bag of what Nico assumed to be books. He gave Nico a lopsided smile and walked over to the shorter boy.

"It's fine, Nico. Nothing is going to hurt you now," Percy assured him. "Why don't you go wait downstairs. I'll grab my clothes and be right down."

Nico nodded and walked out into the hall. He walked down the stairs and dropped his bags onto the foyer's floor. He glanced around at the wrecked house, feeling tears threatening to come back. He was probably going to be traumatized about this for years to come.

He caught sight of the book that Annabeth had tried to escape with from the library. He walked past the chandelier and picked it up. He frowned at it. Letting out a sigh, he walked back over and stuffed it into his backpack. He didn't want to leave something like this behind. What if there were more of those things?

Percy finally came down the stairs, bags slung over his shoulder, and a flashlight in hand. He nodded his head towards the door and out they went. Percy's held out his hand, which Nico gladly took, and they headed towards the road, much to Nico's relief. He didn't care how long the walk would be on the road, he didn't want to go back into the woods.

They eventually came to their vehicles, finding the tow truck in the middle of the road. Percy hopped into driver's seat, while Nico walked around to the other side. Percy grinned when he found the keys in the ignition. He cranked the truck and leaned over to kiss Nico's cheek. Nico smiled as Percy began to drive. He relaxed in his seat. He just wanted to put all of this behind him.

* * *

Nico sighed as he hung up his phone. While he didn't mind talking to all the parents of his dead friends, he just hated having to relive the events. They had called the cops on the way back to Percy's apartment and informed them of everything that happened, leaving out the minor detail of the symbiotic creature.

The cops dropped by to question them the next morning, after they had checked the place out. They had thanked Percy for putting an end to the crazed murderer, and had called the families for them. However, all the parents had turned around and called either him or Percy.

He set his phone on silent and collapsed on the bed. He had been stayed over with Percy, who had, strangely enough, asked him to move in. He had agreed, considering they had known each other for so long now. It wasn't like they weren't used to sleeping over at the other's house.

Percy walked through the doorway, letting out a sigh. He sat his phone down on his table and smiled at Nico. "I just decided to silence mine," Nico told him.

Percy nodded. "I think I'm going to have to."

Nico chewed on his lip. "I just feel bad. They lost their children. I just feel like I should be talking to them."

Percy walked over and sat down beside him. "You don't need to be thinking about it, though. We both need to try and move on. We need to find out ways to cope."

Nico nodded his head, rubbing at his eyes. He rubbed his arm. Even though he was back in his normal life, he couldn't shake this weird feeling.

Percy noticed his uneasiness and kissed Nico's temple. "You worry too much. Everything is fine now," he assured him.

Nico nodded his head. "Sorry. I just have this weird feeling."

Percy shrugged and walked out of the room. Maybe he was right. Maybe Nico was worrying too much. Will was dead. Percy had made sure of that. So, it was over, right? Perhaps it was just because everything was still fresh in his mind. He was probably still in shock.

Nico frowned as his eyes landed on the book that they had found last night, which lay on Percy's dresser. He got off of Percy's bed, and walked over to pick it up. He sighed and opened it up. He wondered if Poseidon had left any notes that Percy might want to see. Perhaps there was a goodbye letter, should Poseidon not have survived what he was trying to do, which he didn't.

"I'm sure you'll calm down by the end of the day," Percy called from the living room.

Nico smiled as he stared down at the book. "Maybe. Perhaps you're right, I'm probably just overreacting."

"You had to watch your friends die, Nico. It's completely understandable."

Nico nodded, but then he remembered Percy couldn't see him. "You're right. I just need some time," he answered. He then mumbled his next words. "Maybe get some therapy."

Nico's smile dropped as he ran across the pages that Percy had been reading the night before. He was about to flip the pages when a passage caught his eye.

_While the Abdotor's host can be killed by decapitating the body, dealing with the Abdotor itself is more problematic. The entity must be sealed away in the host's body via ritual in order to be dealt with on a more permanent basis._

Arms wrapped around Nico's waist. Nico felt Percy's chin rest on his shoulder. Percy's hand closed the book, tossing it back onto the dresser. Nico could feel his body begin to tremble. He glanced into the mirror on the dresser. Percy stood behind him with a warm smile on his face, watching Nico's reflection in the mirror.

While it was still Percy's smile, and they were still Percy's eyes, there was just something about them that made Nico feel strange. There was something...off about them. The way Percy's lips crept up as his smile grew tugged at something in the back of Nico's mind. While his eyes still held the warmth that they always had, there was something dark within them now.

"Don't worry, Nico, there's nothing to worry about anymore. I'll protect you," Percy kissed the back of Nico's head while he held Nico's gaze through the mirror. "Forever."


End file.
